Browse Topic: Crash prevention

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Safer Trucks for India-Smart Tech Fusion2026-26-00311/16/2026
Commercial vehicle sector (especially trucks) has major role in economic growth of a nation. With improving infrastructure, increasing number of trucks on roads, accidents are also increasing. As per RASSI (Road Accident Sampling System India) FY2016-21 database, commercial vehicles are involved in 43% of total accidents on Indian roads. Involvement of trucks (N2 & N3) is 25% over total accidents. Amongst all accident scenarios of N2 &N3, frontal impacts are the most frequent (26%) and causing severe occupant injuries. Today, truck safety development for frontal impact is based on passive safety regulations (viz. front pendulum - AIS029) and basic safety features like seatbelts. In any truck accident, it is challenging rather impossible to manage comprehensive safety only with passive safety systems due to size and weight. Accident prevention becomes imperative in truck safety development due to extremely high energy involved in front impact scenarios. The paper presents unique safety
Joshi, Kedar Shrikant, GADEKAR, GANESH, Date, Atul, Koralla, Sivaprasad
Scenario-Based Helicopter Flight Simulation of Accident-Prone Vortex Ring State (VRS) EncountersF-0080-2024-11415/7/2024
From 2008 to 2021, 48 helicopter accidents have involved Vortex Ring State (VRS) encounters in the United States. For dangerous situations such as VRS encounters and recoveries, Scenario-Based Training (SBT) in flight simulators could supplement flight training, allowing pilots to practice in a safe environment. In this study, we created and tested a proof of concept for scenario-based training in flight simulators, dedicated to VRS-related accident prevention. The goal is to evaluate pilots' awareness, avoidance, detection, and recovery skills during VRS-inducing scenarios. Moreover, this study intends to provide a holistic analysis of VRS encounters and recoveries by examining the situations and factors leading to VRS-related crashes, and to lay out the pilot's decision-making process during the event. For that purpose, a comprehensive set of scenarios was developed based on an analysis of VRS-related accidents from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) database. Overall
Sotiropoulos-Georgiopoulos, Eleni, Mavris, Dimitri, Johnson, Charles, Payan, Alexia
A Retrospective & Historical Analysis of Vertical Lift Infrastructure Accidents for the Purpose of Operational Risk Identification and Accident PreventionF-0077-2021-168245/10/2021
ABSTRACT
Johnson, Cliff, Alexander, Rex, Roberts, John, Syms, Raymond
Performance of the Ford Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking System in Instrumented Tests2021-01-08944/6/2021
Modern Ford vehicles can be manufactured with a system known as Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB). The Pre-Collision Assist feature uses camera technology to detect a potential collision with a vehicle or pedestrian directly ahead. If a potential collision is detected, an alert sound is emitted, and a warning message displays in the vehicle’s message center. If the driver response is not sufficient, AEB will be pre-charged and brake-assist sensitivity will be increased to provide full responsiveness if the driver does brake. If there is no perceived corrective action and a collision is imminent, the vehicle’s brakes can apply automatically. By detecting the possible collision and actuating the braking system, it is possible to prevent some collisions and lessen the severity of others. Testing of this system was conducted using a 2020 Ford Explorer. During several tests, the instrumented Ford was driven at a simulated target vehicle or pedestrian dummy. Data
Vandiver, Wesley, Anderson, Robert
Silicon Valley Summit Identifies Safety Strategies for Self-driving Cars20AVEP01_111/1/2020
AV industry leaders pinpointed several effective tactics, such as limiting vehicle speeds and empowering safety operators to ground vehicles. Until recently, leading autonomous vehicle (AV) technologists posited that ultra-safe, go-anywhere robotaxis would soon be on the road. But questions about those timelines-and the safety of testing AVs on public roads-emerged in 2018 after a series of high-profile accidents. Consumers have since been caught in the middle between promises of eliminating highway fatalities and reports about deadly crashes. The World Safety Summit on Autonomous Technology was organized by Velodyne Lidar to help clear up the confusion. The second annual event, which took place in Santa Clara, Calif., on Oct. 2, gathered some of the AV industry's sharpest thinkers. While attendees did not walk away from the day's speeches and panel sessions with a well-defined roadmap, the summit yielded several common-sense guidelines for increasing self-driving safety.
Berman, Bradley
Study on Comprehensive Evaluation Index of Front Collision Hazard of Intelligent Vehicle2019-01-504411/4/2019
Collision avoidance technology is one of the key areas in the longitudinal safety research of intelligent vehicles. For the research of collision avoidance system, the existing methods usually use the evaluation index based on time interval or braking process to carry out risk assessment. In order to overcome the shortcomings of the formulas for describing the longitudinal hazard degree established in most studies, such as great differences, inconsistent standards and weak normalization, a comprehensive evaluation method for the longitudinal hazard in front-impact scenarios is established. This method takes into account both the analysis of time interval and braking process, and considers the non-linear variation of the longitudinal hazard degree with the real-time distance and speed of two vehicles. It can describe the longitudinal hazard degree of vehicles in dangerous traffic scenarios. Compared with the existing longitudinal hazard assessment methods, the effectiveness and
Jiaxiang, Qin, Zhang, Sumin, Weiwen, Deng, Rui, He
The Navigator19AVEP07_027/1/2019
As the world turns to C-V2X, Europe picks WiFi Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications is a relatively straightforward and inexpensive technology that has the potential to reduce crashes by improving driver situational awareness. Compared to the automated-driving technology that most of the industry is rushing to develop, V2X is cheap and can even be retrofitted to existing vehicles. Yet despite these and other benefits, V2X has not yet been rolled out globally amid a new technology-standards battle.
Abuelsamid, Sam
A Study of the Performance of Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) Systems Equipped on Passenger Vehicles for Model Years 2013 to 20182019-01-04164/2/2019
Over the past decade, manufacturers have introduced vehicles equipped with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) into the North American market. These vehicles have the capability to not only detect an impending collision and warn the driver, but also to initiate braking independent of the driver. The collision avoidance strategies used by the various manufacturers have not been studied extensively. In 2013, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) began testing vehicles equipped with AEB in rear-end collision situations in order to issue their front crash prevention safety ratings for these vehicles. To date, over 180 vehicles from 31 manufactures spanning model years 2013 to 2018 have been tested. This paper presents an analysis of the data collected in these tests. The objective of the study was to assess the differences in performance and strategies used, at two different closing speeds, between manufacturers. The difference in strategies included differences in braking rates
Miholjcic, Djordje, Fabbroni, Mark, Robinson, Richard
Application of Collision Probability Estimation to Calibration of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems2019-01-11334/2/2019
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are designed and calibrated rigorously to provide them with the robustness against highly uncertain environments that they usually operate in. Typical calibration procedures for such systems rely extensively on track (controlled environment) testing, which is time-consuming, expensive, and sometimes cannot cover all the critical test scenarios that could be encountered by ADAS in the real world. Therefore, virtual (simulation-based) testing and validation has been gaining more prominence and emphasis for ensuring high coverage along with easier scalability and usage. This paper attempts to provide an alternative approach for calibrating ADAS in the controller validation phase by the aid of simulated test case scenarios. The study executes characterization of the uncertainty in the position and heading of the ego and the obstacle vehicles. This exercise captures the uncertainties in the states detection of vehicles in the environment and
Bithar, Vivek, Karumanchi, Aditya
Long-Term Evolution of Straight Crossing Path Crash Occurrence in the U.S. Fleet: The Potential of Intersection Active Safety Systems2019-01-10234/2/2019
Intersection collisions currently account for approximately one-fifth of all crashes and one-sixth of all fatal crashes in the United States. One promising method of mitigating these crashes and fatalities is to develop and install Intersection Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (I-ADAS) on vehicles. When an intersection crash is imminent, the I-ADAS system can either warn the driver or apply automated braking. The potential safety benefit of I-ADAS has been previously examined based on real-world cases drawn from the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (NMVCCS). However, these studies made the idealized assumption of full installation in all vehicles of a future fleet. The objective of this work was to predict the reduction in Straight Crossing Path (SCP) crashes due to I-ADAS systems in the United States over time. The proportion of new vehicles with I-ADAS was modeled using Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) fleet penetration predictions. The number of potential SCP
Bareiss, Max, Gabler, H., Sherony, Rini
Research on the Model of Safety Boundary Condition Based on Vehicle Intersection Conflict and Collision2019-01-01324/2/2019
Because of the high frequency and serious consequences of traffic accidents in the intersection area, it is of great significance to study the vehicle conflict and collision scenarios of the intersection area. Due to few actual crash accidents occurring in naturalistic driving studies data or field operational tests data, the data of traffic accident database should be also used to analyze the intersection conflict and collision. According to the China Field Operation Test (China-FOT) database and the China in Depth Accident Study (CIDAS) database, the distribution feature of the respective intersection scenario type is obtained from the data analysis. Based on the intersection scenario type, two characters of intersection conflict and collision, the environmental character and the vehicle dynamic character, are used to analyze for the integration process of intersection conflict and collision. The environmental character contains several parameters, including environment type, weather
Wu, Biao, Zhu, Xichan, Liao, Maozhu, Liu, Rui
Power Line Detection System for Unmanned Aircraft SystemsTBMG-3309810/1/2018
Electrical power lines pose a serious crash hazard to helicopters and other air-based vehicles, especially small aerial vehicles such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This is because power lines are so widespread, hard to see, and strung at roughly the same height above the ground at which these aircraft fly. In fact, according to one report by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), power lines are the cause of roughly 5 percent of helicopter accidents. This statistic applies to both civilian and military cases. Another report found power-line collisions are responsible for 31 percent of accidents among agricultural aircraft. Fatalities and injuries occurred in many of these accidents.
Key Technologies Needed to Advance Mission-Critical IoTTBMG-324978/1/2018
By 2028, virtually all major sensing and feedback systems benefiting from continuous monitoring will connect to devices currently known as the Internet of Things (IoT). As that connectedness becomes a given, the need to label anything as IoT will become unnecessary, in much the same way that referring to a smartphone today as an Internet-connected device seems redundant. As the pervasiveness of the IoT spreads, it will change completely how the world interacts with information. And, it will have a dramatic impact on mission-critical IoT devices and the applications they enable.
A Novel Zero-Zero Safety System for VTOL AircraftF-0074-2018-127405/14/2018
ABSTRACT The advent of multi-rotor, electric VTOL aircraft capable of carrying passengers and providing on-demand personal air transport promises a revolution not only in urban travel, but also in a multitude of other applications which will change the way that a broad range of people carry out their routine work activities. Many of the eVTOL design projects propose to use current ballistic parachute systems in case of any power or control failure; however, any recovery system which (i) gives a Ground Contact Velocity (GCV) of 5 to 7m/s and (ii) will not deploy properly below c. 100 to 150 feet will not be a solution that can satisfy certification requirements for carrying fare-paying passengers above a crowded urban environment. Active VTOL Crash Prevention Ltd (AVCP) is developing a system combining a rapid opening parachute and rocket motors designed to provide a controlled landing at less than 2m/s in any emergency situation.
Sloman, Roger, Scott, Simon
Frontal, Lateral, and Free-Operation Impacts of Amusement Bumper Cars: Vehicle Kinematics and Occupant Kinematics2018-01-05434/3/2018
This study conducted a series of rear-impact, side-impact, barrier, and free-operation collisions using a bumper car ride at an active amusement park. Two conditions were studied: staged and free operation. Each staged test included a bullet (impacting) vehicle operated by a rider and a target (impacted) static vehicle or structure. Impact configurations of frontal collisions of the bullet vehicle into the rear and side of a target vehicle were consistent with the existing literature. The free operation condition involved collisions which were not pre-determined, and operators may not have been prepared for collision timing, magnitude, and direction. Results demonstrated high repeatability for vehicle parameters, such as impact velocity, change in velocity, and peak acceleration. Peak changes in velocity during vehicle-to-vehicle collisions were 2.2-2.5 m/s (8-8.9 km/hr; 5-5.5 mph) for the target vehicle and 1.6-1.8 m/s (5.6-6.4 km/hr; 3.5-4 mph) for the bullet vehicle, while those
Bussone, William R., Moore, Tara, Locey, Caitlin, Cargill, Robert
Epidemiology of Helicopter Accidents: Trends, Rates, and CovariatesF-0073-2017-121615/9/2017
ABSTRACT The objective of this work is to provide a better understanding of helicopter accidents (rates, trends, and covariates) and to identify areas that deserve careful attention for accident prevention. Several questions were here investigated, including: (1) whether there are differences in accident rates for helicopters with different number of main rotor blades? (2) whether different engine types are associated with different accident rates, controlling for number of blades? And (3) whether there are seasonality effects in helicopter accident rates? To this effect, Record Linkage of two Federal data sources, the FAA civil helicopter registration data and the NTSB accident data, enabled the investigation of these and other questions. First, the accident rates and trend analysis highlighted the safety challenges that continue to face helicopters (significantly worse track record than commercial airlines, passenger cars, and motorcycles). Second, it was found that helicopter
Churchwell, Jared, Zhang, Katherine, Saleh, Joseph
Epidemiology of Helicopter Accidents: Inspection Blind Spots, Geographic Disparities, and Pilot DemographicsF-0073-2017-121605/9/2017
ABSTRACT The objective of this work and its companion article is to provide a better understanding of helicopter accidents and to identify areas that deserve careful attention for improving safety and accident prevention. Three broad questions were here investigated: (1) whether there are safety blind spots in helicopter inspections and any association between inspection time and accidents? (2) whether there are geographic disparities in helicopter accident rates in the U.S. at the regional and state level? And (3) whether there is any association between pilot age and flight experience, and helicopter accident rates? Record Linkage of two Federal data sources, the FAA civil helicopter registration data and the NTSB accident data, enabled the investigation of these and other questions. The main results included the following. First, it was found that there is a clear and significant association between the time of inspection and the accident occurrence, with 10% of all accidents
Zhang, Katherine, Churchwell, Jared, Saleh, Joseph
Integration Strategy of Safety Systems - Status and Outlook2016-01-14994/5/2016
On the way to automated driving, the installation rate of surround sensing systems will rapidly increase in the upcoming years. The respective technical progress in the areas of driver assistance and active safety leads to a numerous and valuable information and signals to be used prior to, during and even after an accident. Car makers and suppliers can make use of this new situation and develop integrated safety functions to further reduce the number of injured and even deaths in car accidents. Nevertheless, the base occupant safety remains the core of this integrated safety system in order to ensure at least a state-of-the-art protection even in vehicles including partial, high or full automation. Current networked safety systems comprehend a point-to-point connection between single components of active and safety systems. The optimal integration requires a much deeper and holistic approach. This paper and presentation describe current and future challenges and a clear strategy for
Klier, Willy, Lich, Thomas, D’Addetta, Gian Antonio, Freienstein, Heiko, Koehler, Armin, Reckziegel, Bastian, Yu, Zerong
The New Approach of In-Depth-Accident-Investigation based on the Methodology for Traffic Accident Database on Scenarios TADS2016-01-14724/5/2016
Estimating the potential benefit of advanced safety systems by simulation has become increasingly important during the last years. All over the world OEMs and suppliers carry out benefit estimations by simulations via computer models. Such simulations should, of course, be based on real world scenario such as the pre-crash phase of real world accidents. Several methodologies for building up accident scenarios have been developed in the past. This paper shows a new method for generating pre-crash scenarios directly from the reconstruction of the accident by using the software PC-Crash1. The new method was developed by the Medical University Hannover (MHH) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation Dresden (Fraunhofer IVI). It is based on transferring all information (participant-, vehicle-, environment- and motion-data) from the reconstruction file into a scenario-database. In order to analyse the pre-crash situation of real-world accidents and changing boundary conditions (e.g
Otte, Dietmar, Urban, Martin, Johannsen, Heiko
A Study on Car Following and Cognitive Ability of Elderly Drivers by Using Driving Simulator2016-01-17373/27/2016
The world is aging rapidly. Many countries can already be categorized as aging or aged societies while a few are becoming super-aged societies. In Thailand as well as in other countries, traffic accidents caused by elderly drivers will continue to rise as a significant percentage of elderly people still prefer to drive. Accidents may be prevented with driving tests and screening methods for elderly drivers. However, it is also necessary to understand the effect of aging on driving ability. With this understanding, driver training, driver assistant systems, and improvements on infrastructure may be designed accordingly. Among various physical changes, cognitive ability of the brain is one of the most significant factors affecting driving ability. In this paper, correlation between various cognitive functions of the brain and car following skill of drivers are considered. Car following skill was chosen because rear-end collisions are some of the most frequent type of accidents in
Ngernsukphaiboon, Thitsadee, Chantranuwathana, Sunhapos, Noomwongs, Nuksit, Sripakagorn, Angkee, Hemrungrojn MD, Solaphat
Crash testing advances on many fronts16MEIP03_183/1/2016
Traffic fatalities have declined significantly over the last several years, but the U.S. is on track to have its deadliest year since 2007, according to the National Safety Council. That's shining the spotlight on crash testing, which helps automakers create the safest vehicles possible. Crash-testing research being done by testing groups and tool developers is extending its reach to crash avoidance. Some of the latest developments in collision avoidance and protection were recently explored by four industry experts in “The Future of Crash Testing” Technical Webinar Series from the Editors of SAE, which is now available for on-demand viewing.
Costlow, Terry
Fleet Fatality Risk and its Sensitivity to Vehicle Mass Change in Frontal Vehicle-to-Vehicle Crashes, Using a Combined Empirical and Theoretical Model2015-22-001111/9/2015
The objective of this study is to analytically model the fatality risk in frontal vehicle-to-vehicle crashes of the current vehicle fleet, and its sensitivity to vehicle mass change. A model is built upon an empirical risk ratio-mass ratio relationship from field data and a theoretical mass ratio-velocity change ratio relationship dictated by conservation of momentum. The fatality risk of each vehicle is averaged over the closing velocity distribution to arrive at the mean fatality risks. The risks of the two vehicles are summed and averaged over all possible crash partners to find the societal mean fatality risk associated with a subject vehicle of a given mass from a fleet specified by a mass distribution function. Based on risk exponent and mass distribution from a recent fleet, the subject vehicle mean fatality risk is shown to increase, while at the same time that for the partner vehicles decreases, as the mass of the subject vehicle decreases. The societal mean fatality risk, the
Shi, Yibing, Nusholtz, Guy S.
Methodologies for Verifying Memory Requirements for Aero-Embedded Systems2012-01-213510/22/2012
The quality of an embedded application depends not only on how well it satisfies functional requirements but also on performance efficiency of the system. In embedded systems, non-functional requirements like memory requirements, play a very important role, and often impact significantly the embedded system's performance and overall cost of implementation. Embedded Systems usually have constrained resources like memory. Hence, choosing a correct method of verifying memory requirements is extremely critical. This Paper will give an overview of methodologies for performing different Memory Analyses to determine the correctness and consistency of memory requirements for airborne software and verifying efficient memory usage as required by the RTCA DO-178B guidelines. Different memory analyses methodologies like Memory Map Analysis, Stack Analysis and Heap Analysis are explained with current technology involved.
Raul, Vanchana, Orpe, Pranav
Japan - Large Storage Battery Installation AmendmentRS-BNA-JUN_12_115/23/2012
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Fire and Disaster Management Agency, has amended regulations in regard to installation of large storage battery systems. The rule allows businesses to install such systems as part of regular buildings, such as office buildings and hospitals, if they meet specific standards. Under the previous regulations, storage battery systems using dangerous substances more than the specified quantities were only allowed if the entire building met the standards for dangerous facilities. The amended regulations provide greater flexibility and the storage battery systems can be installed in part of a regular building, such as a basement or a rooftop, under certain conditions. In addition, the rule requires dangerous facilities subject to the accident prevention plan requirement (e.g. specific facilities manufacturing, storing, or handling dangerous substances) to include in the plan measures for a possible tsunami. The regulation was adopted on May
Turn Signal Usage Rate Results: A Comprehensive Field Study of 12,000 Observed Turning Vehicles2012-01-02614/16/2012
The turn signal is a vital safety feature that is not only required to be built in as standard equipment on all vehicles, but their use by the driver in everyday driving is required by law. Since not all drivers are diligent at properly actuating turn signals in every situation, the use of the turn signal is less than 100%. However, despite the fact that turn signals are a crash prevention feature, no known study relating to turn signal usage rates is available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nor from the Department of Transportation, nor from any University, nor from other private safety organizations. This paper summarizes a first-ever published comprehensive study related to turn signal usage rates by everyday drivers and summarizes it in a simple, yet highly accurate naturalistic observation format with the following basic premise: A vehicle is observed to be turning in a situation that is deemed by the observer to require a turn signal: was the turn signal
Ponziani, Richard
Basilar Skull Fractures by Crash Type and Injury Source2011-01-11264/12/2011
Purpose: This study investigates NASS-CDS data on basilar skull fractures by crash type and injury source for various crash scenarios to understand the injury risks, injury mechanisms and contact sources. Methods: 1993-2008 NASS-CDS data was used to study basilar skull fractures in adult front occupants by crash type and injury source. Injury risks were determined using weighted data for occupants with known injury status in 1994+ model year vehicles. In-depth analysis was made of far-side occupants in side impacts and rear crashes using the NASS electronic cases. Results: Basilar skull fractures occur in 0.507 ± 0.059% of rollovers and 0.255 ± 0.025% of side impacts. The lowest risk is in rear impacts at 0.015 ± 0.007%. The most common contact source is the roof, side rails and header (39.0%) in rollovers, the B-pillar (25.8%) in side impacts and head restraint (55.3%) in rear crashes. Seatbelt use significantly lowers the risk for basilar fracture from 1.77 ± 0.32% for unbelted to
Parenteau, Chantal, Viano, David C.
A Comparison Study on Head Injury Risk in Car-to-Pedestrian Collisions in Changsha and Hannover2010-01-11674/12/2010
Vehicle traffic accidents have been extensively studied in various countries, but any differences in traffic accidents the studied areas have not yet been adequately investigated. This paper aims to make a comparison study of head injury risks and kinematics of adult pedestrian accidents in Changsha, China, and Hannover, Germany, as well as correlate calculated physical parameters with injuries observed in real-world accidents of the two cities. A total of 20 passenger cars versus adult pedestrian accidents were collected from the two areas of study, including 10 cases from Changsha and 10 cases from Hannover. Virtual accident reconstructions using PC-Crash and MADYMO software were performed. The in-depth study focused on head injury risks while kinematics were conducted using statistical approaches. The results of the analysis of the Chinese data were compared with those of the German data. The results indicated that differences regarding average head contact time, WAD, and scatter of
Chen, Yong, Yang, Jikuang, Otte, Dietmar
Target Population for Injury Reduction from Pre-Crash Systems2010-01-04634/12/2010
Pre-Crash Systems (PCS) integrate the features of active and passive safety systems to reduce both crash and injury severity. Upon detection of an impending collision, PCS can provide an early warning to the driver and activate automatic braking to reduce the crash severity for the subject vehicle. PCS can also activate the seatbelt pretensioners prior to impact. This paper identifies the opportunities for injury prevention in crash types for which PCS can be potentially activated. These PCS applicable crash types include rear-end crashes, single vehicle crashes into objects (trees, poles, structures, parked vehicles), and head-on crashes. PCS can benefit the occupants of both the striking and struck vehicle. In this paper, the opportunity for injury reduction in the struck vehicle is also tabulated. The study is based upon the analysis of approximately 20,000 frontal crash cases extracted from NASS / CDS 1997-2008. Annually, there are an estimated 16,800 seriously injured occupants
Kusano, Kristofer, Gabler, H. Clay
A Study on Head Injury Risk in Car-to-Pedestrian Collisions Using FE-Model2009-01-22636/9/2009
Head injury is quite frequently occurred in car-to-pedestrian collisions, which often places an enormous burden to victims and society. To address head protection and understand the head injury mechanisms, in-depth accident investigation and accident reconstructions were conducted. A total of 6 passenger-cars to adult-pedestrian accidents were sampled from the in-depth accident investigation in Changsha China. Accidents were firstly reconstructed by using Multi-bodies (MBS) pedestrian and car models. The head impact conditions such as head impact velocity; position and orientation were calculated from MBS reconstructions, which were then employed to set the initial conditions in the simulation of a head model striking a windshield using Finite Element (FE) head and windshield models. The intracranial pressure and stress distribution of the FE head model were calculated and correlated with the injury outcomes. Reconstruction results show that the coup/contre-coup pressure, Von Mises
Chen, Yong, Yang, Jikuang, Xu, Wei, Yang, Jikuang, Xu, Wei
A Strategy to Partition Crash Data to Define Active-Safety Sensors and Product Solutions2008-21-003210/20/2008
Both Crash-Avoidance and Pre-Crash active safety technologies are being developed to help reduce the number of crashes and minimize the severity of crashes. The root basis in the development of new and improved active safety technologies always begins with gaining further knowledge about crash kinds and causes. The dynamics of crashes are quite complex. The evolving precursor crash situation initiated in the Crash-Avoidance time-period will vary from the imminent crash situation in the Pre-Crash time-period. As such, in order to develop the appropriate requirements for both crash-avoidance and pre-crash technologies, they must be analyzed from their respective crash data. A data-driven methodology process has been developed which partitions the field data with a perspective to crash-avoidance and pre-crash. To support this methodology, a unique set of limited number of “fundamental” crash categories will be defined, in which the field data can be sorted to quantify the respective crash
Hanna, William B., Widmann, Glenn R.
A Study on the Effect of Brake Assist Systems (BAS)2008-01-08244/14/2008
BAS assists driver's by automatically increasing their braking power during an emergency brake event when the driver is unable to apply a sufficient brake force.. There are two performance requirements that BAS must fulfill in order to be employed effectively. One is the ability to activate when the driver suddenly applies brakes in an emergency while the other is the ability to provide additional assistance. Further study of BAS activation timing and degree of assistance in relation to driver acceptance is needed. The driver's acceptance of BAS refers to the BAS activation only during an emergency. A study was conducted to clarify drivers' emergency braking characteristics and measure the frequency of BAS activation during normal braking. One aim of the study was to verify driver characteristics during emergency braking on a test course. The study measured the brake pedal speed, force, and stroke during emergency braking along with the driver's compatibility with BAS activation
Hirose, Toshiya, Taniguchi, Tetsuo, Hatano, Tadashi, Takahashi, Kunio, Tanaka, Nobuhisa
Emergency Portability of Slide/RaftsARP5252 (Historical)1/18/2007
This SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) recommends design features for facilitating relocation of portable slide/rafts for deployment at an alternate exit under ditching conditions.
S-9A Safety Equipment and Survival Systems Committee
Location, Diagnostics, and Commercial Transactions – Content Services for Business2006-21-007210/16/2006
The development of real-time integrated wireless communications and remote monitoring abilities for mobile workers and vehicles provides access to these still-unrealized markets. In this business model, opportunities exist for companies that provide the means of moving content to support cost savings and optimization of a business customer's operations. This paper examines these opportunities, the technology that makes them viable business opportunities, and real-world examples of how content in the business market is being leveraged today.
Carlson, J. Richard
Vaporization of JP-8 Jet Fuel in a Simulated Aircraft Fuel Tank Under Varying Ambient Conditions2006-01-24458/30/2006
This study has been performed to aid in the effort to minimize the possibility of a fuel tank explosion in a commercial aircraft. An understanding of the mechanisms behind fuel vaporization processes in an aircraft fuel tank is essential to developing accident prevention techniques. An experiment was designed to measure the conditions existing within a heated aluminum fuel tank, partially filled with JP-8 jet fuel, under varying ambient conditions similar to those encountered by an in-flight aircraft. Comprehensive fuel tank data, including all temperatures, pressure, and ullage hydrocarbon concentration, was obtained during testing, and is available for use to validate heat and mass transfer calculations. An existing engineering model was employed in this work to calculate ullage temperature and ullage fuel vapor concentration in the tank and compare with measured values, to explain the transport processes occurring in the tank during testing, and to estimate the flammability of the
Ochs, Robert I., Polymeropoulos, Constantine E.
Volvo ‘bags’ unique safety technologyAUTOJUL06_057/1/2006
The C70 retractable hardtop uses vertically deploying curtain airbags to provide added open-top passenger safety. Very few auto manufacturers would have the nerve to introduce their newest model by involving it in a spectacular crash. But that is how Volvo showed off its new C70 folding hardtop convertible. Because the words “Volvo” and “safety” go together, the company wanted to demonstrate the effectiveness of its safety systems, particularly a new vertically deploying curtain airbag. In the 1970s, with the drive for automotive safety still in first gear but propelled by a powerful lobby, the future for convertible cars looked distinctly doubtful; a total legislated ban seemed increasingly likely. Airbag technology was in its infancy, rollover bars were not generally in use, and even the most avid supporters of soft tops had to admit that they were potentially more dangerous than their hardtop counterparts. As for body structure, crashworthiness and torsional rigidity were almost
Birch, Stuart
Delivering greater safety at lower costAUTOMAY06_105/1/2006
TRW Occupant Safety Systems' top engineer discusses product development challenges as safety systems suppliers race to out-innovate and out-integrate their competitors while they outpace future legislation and constantly reduce cost. Doug Campbell was looking remarkably fresh for someone who had started the day more than 20 hours earlier in Tokyo. It was mid-afternoon at TRW's Occupant Safety Systems headquarters north of Detroit, and Campbell, the Vice President of Engineering, still had hours of meetings ahead of him before quitting time. “I'm used to the constant travel,” said Campbell. “It goes along with demand for our products from global customers. What we as safety-systems suppliers-and by ‘we’ I mean the industry as a whole-have achieved in the last 20 years has been unbelievable.”
Brooke, Lindsay
Thoracic Injury Investigation using PMHS in Frontal Airbag Out-of-Position Situations2005-22-001511/9/2005
Many studies have reported multiple rib fractures sustained by an Out-of-Position (OOP) driver subjected to a frontal airbag deployment, but the injury mechanisms and thresholds remain unclear. Two successive phases occur during the bag deployment: punch-out loading of the thorax, followed by a membrane effect (Horsch et al. 1990). The aim of this study was to investigate the thoracic injuries generated by each phase separately. Tests of nine post-mortem human surrogates (PMHS) were carried out on a static test bench using a driver side airbag module described by Petit et al. (2003). The steering wheel was replaced by a plate in order to increase the loading generated by the airbag. Three loading configurations were performed: membrane only, punch-out only, and both types combined. The membrane-only tests were performed with the thorax initially positioned at 13, 78 and 128 mm from the plate in order to vary the load magnitude. The punch-out and the combined tests were performed with
Lebarbé, Matthieu, Potier, Pascal, Baudrit, Pascal, Petit, Philippe, Trosseille, Xavier, Vallancien, Guy
Vehicle Acceleration and Compartment Intrusion for Far-Sided Occupants v. Near-Sided Occupants in Frontal Offset Collisions2003-01-01593/3/2003
Vehicle acceleration and compartment intrusion play major roles in occupant injury causation, in frontal offset collisions. The knowledge of injury causation may enable the injury risk to be directly assessed from accident conditions, once a relationship between accident conditions and vehicle response is known. To establish such a relationship, a simulation study was carried out, in which vehicle acceleration and local compartment intrusion were calculated for various crash speeds and overlap configurations. The simulation model was validated against crash-tests in terms of the local vehicle deformation, acceleration and local dash and toepan intrusion. It was found that average acceleration generally decreased with reduced overlap, while intrusion increased for narrower overlap and impact locations more closely to the dash and/or toepan. This general trend indicates the relatively high injury risk for near-side occupants and a low risk for far-side occupants. Far-side, low-overlap
Jewkes, Dagmar Buzeman
AMPS, Skidmarks and ITS: Managing Merging to Improve Safety and Traffic Flow2002-01-07603/4/2002
The genesis of the AMPS (Absent-Minded Professor Syndrome) Theory in presentations in Detroit, Paris, Seoul and Torino is reviewed. A ‘rappel’ is issued on the empirical relationship between the numbers of fatalities, PI's and ‘fender-benders’ and thus, by extension, ‘near-misses’ (as ‘recorded’ by skidmarks). Data on skidmark incidence from expressways in Australia, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Canada are analyzed using the AMPS theory. Observations on roads around the world (U.S.A., Korea, Japan and India as well as Denmark, France and Austria) and data on accident location (Verkehrspolizeiinspektion Ingolstadt) strongly support the detailed analysis. The author concludes that this evidence on ‘near-misses’ presents an opportunity to use ITS to substantially cut expressway ‘accidents’ by ‘managed merging’ at expressway entrance points.
Gullon, A. C. “Al”
Analysis of Flight Operational Quality Assurance Data Using Model-Based Activity Tracking2001-01-26409/11/2001
Future technologies will enable carriers to collect additional flight data for Flight Operational Quality Assurance. This paper describes how analysis of these data using model-based activity tracking can automatically assess the causes of detected deviations to support safety-enhancement efforts. The paper describes the activity tracking methodology implemented in the Crew Activity Tracking System (CATS) using an example drawn from previous research in which CATS analyzed full-mission simulation data online. The paper also discusses current research on using CATS to analyze flight data from a Boeing 757 aircraft.
Callantine, Todd J.
Artificial Intelligence, Real-Time, In-Situ Profiling System (AIRTIPS) A Concept of Real-Time, Routine In-Flight Monitoring and Assessment of Risk2001-01-26629/11/2001
Sutton, Robert W.
The Vision of a Comprehensive Safety Concept2001-06-02526/4/2001
A look at the various past achievements in the field of passenger car safety raises the question whether any dramatic steps towards its improvement can still be expected. Will progress be confined to the optimization of existing systems or does the future hold new substantial safety steps? This paper elaborates on the issue that the time available before a potential accident occurs can be used to improve the safety of occupants and other involved road users. Accident analysis confirms that this is feasible for about two-thirds of all accidents. The recognition of an imminent collision bears a noteworthy potential for accident prevention, reduction of accident severity and injury severity. The former boundary between active and passive safety thus fades continually. Based upon this it is possible to describe vehicle safety by a comprehensive approach encompassing seven escalation levels. This approach underscores the future intention of Mercedes-Benz to increasingly embrace preventive
Baumann, Karl-Heinz, Sch\arneburg, Rodolfo, Justen, Rainer
Safety benefits of improvements in vehicle design since the introduction of the ANCAP crash test program2001-06-02186/4/2001
The Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has for several years funded research at the Road Accident Prevention Research Unit at the University of Western Australia aimed at quantifying the value of reducing injuries by improving vehicle safety design. An injury cost database was developed using claims data from the Motor Accidents Authority of NSW (MAA) and additional cost data from other sources. These costs were used together with the measurements from the test instruments in the ANCAP crash tests to estimate the cost of injuries to front seat occupants in the ANCAP-tested vehicles. The aim of this study was to use the injury cost information from this previous research to estimate the safety benefits of improvements in vehicle design in cars entering the passenger vehicle fleet in Western Australia since the introduction of the ANCAP crash test program in 1992. The results of the study show significant safety benefits from the design and equipment changes introduced in new
Hendrie, Delia, Lyle, Greg, Haley, Jack
Rollover of Heavy Commercial VehiclesRR-0044/19/2000
Rollover accidents are of special concern for commercial vehicle safety. The relatively low roll stability of the commercial truck promotes rollover and contributes to the number of truck accidents and injuries. This Research Report takes an in-depth look at the mechanics and contributing factors to rollover accidents and helps to identify prevention strategies.
Winkler, Christopher B., Blower, Daniel, Ervin, Robert D., Chalasani, Rao M.
Safety — An Essential Ingredient for Profitability, Managing Safety and Profitability in Airline Operations2000-01-21244/11/2000
Accidents and serious incidents are major cost factors in companies that have high consequence operations. Aviation, though having a very favorable safety level, still faces huge liabilities when accidents or serious incidents occur. This paper will argue that safety should be regarded by management as a core production value, just as other products of the company are. Examples will be drawn from the worldwide industry that show the value of low accident operation. The FSF’s ICARUS committee’s work will also be described that presents persuasive arguments for establishing aviation company cultures that place high value on accident avoidance and reduction of risk. Returns in passenger confidence and respect for the air company that translate into ridership are only part of the profit picture. Reductions of employee injuries and fatalities, reduced damage to aircraft during ground operations have heavy positive leverage on the company’s profitability. Investments by management in
Matthews, Stuart
Estimation of Crash Injury Severity Reduction for Intelligent Vehicle Safety Systems2000-01-13543/6/2000
A novel methodology is presented to estimate the safety benefits of intelligent vehicle safety systems in terms of reductions in the number of collisions and the number and severity of crash-related injuries. In addition, mathematical models and statistics are provided to support the estimation of the crash injury reduction factor in rear-end, lane change, and single vehicle roadway departure collisions. Simple models based on Newtonian mechanics are proposed to derive Δv, the change in speed that a vehicle undergoes as a consequence of crashing. Statistics on the distribution of vehicle types and weights in the United States are supplied, which are needed for Δv estimation. Moreover, mathematical equations are derived to estimate the average harm per collision. Finally, statistics on the average harm per occupant are obtained from the 1994 and 1995 Crashworthiness Data System crash databases.
Najm, Wassim G., daSilva, Marco P., Wiacek, Christopher J.
Human Factors Analysis of Naval Transport Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Line Related Incidents1999-01-29818/10/1999
To study maintainer error, the Naval Safety Center’s Human Factors Accident Classification System (HFACS) was adapted for Maintenance Related Mishaps (MRMs). The HFACS Maintenance Extension (ME) successfully profiled the errors present Naval Aviation Class A MRMs. In order to assess its suitability for studying major and minor airline accidents, a post hoc analysis was conducted on 124 Naval Fleet Logistics Support (VR) Wing maintenance related mishap, hazard, and injury reports. Two judges separately coded the 124 VR Wing incidents; a Cohen’s kappa of .78 was achieved, indicating an “excellent” level of agreement. Generally, HFACS-ME was able to profile maintainer errors found in more minor incidents and the factors that contribute to them. Common factors observed include errors attributed to third party maintenance, inadequate supervision, failed communications, skill-based errors, and procedural violations.
Schmidt, John K., Figlock, Robert C., Teeters, Curtis D.
Emergency Response Personnel Training for Aircraft Accidents1999-01-14504/13/1999
A new Aircraft Accident Awareness Program (AAAP) was developed, evaluated, and is available to emergency response service provider organizations (firefighters, emergency medical technicians, trauma center personnel, law enforcement, clergy, coroners, and media) who would be called to an aircraft accident scene. Aircraft accident responder training is a critical factor in accident victim crash survivability and successful life-safety outcomes. This program was designed to teach participants about the unique conditions and safety hazards associated with aircraft crashes. A blend of academic classroom investigation, exposure to airworthy/ unairworthy aircraft including operating systems and components, computer accident simulations, “hands-on” (destructive) extrication protocol training, and participation in simulated in-the-field accident scenarios was used as an instructional delivery model.
Geibel, William D.
Safety of a Downsized Vehicle Fleet: Effects of Mass Distribution, Impact Speed and Inherent Protection in Car-To-Car Crashes1999-01-00743/1/1999
Vehicle fleet downsizing has been discussed in Europe as an aspect to reduce fuel emissions. A recently developed mathematical model was used to study the individual effects of fleet mass distribution, impact speed reductions and inherent vehicle protection on average injury and fatality rates for downsized fleets. A baseline fleet of 700-2000 kg was downsized by a) reducing all vehicle masses by 10% or 20% and b) by removing all cars heavier than 1400 or 1200 kg. The results showed that the safety can be maintained if the vehicle masses are reduced proportionally to their original mass. A higher safety level can be achieved by removing the heavier vehicles. Traffic safety can be further enhanced by impact speed reductions or by improvements of restraint systems and vehicle compatibility. The safety level would rise more by implementation of radar-activated brakes or controlling city speed limits than by intensified highway patrols, to eliminate crashes with impact speeds over 140 mph
Jewkes, Dagmar Buzeman, Lövsund, Per, Viano, David C.
Communication Skills Development: Practical Implications for a Culture of Safety in Aviation Maintenance98311311/9/1998
The negative consequences of unsafe behaviors on the job heavily contribute to the rising costs of doing business in terms of both organization dollars and diminished human quality of life. Developing a safety culture provides a positive proactive approach toward creating a working environment where safety is a top priority. An integral part of accomplishing this task is directly related to training individuals on how the interactions that occur among organizational members and the messages their behaviors send influence others' behaviors. This can be best addressed through communication skill development initiatives including mutual responsibility, trust, avoiding punitive strategies and facilitating assertiveness.
Armentrout, Christy, Mattson, Marifran
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